Bangladesh GDP senario shows growth to slow to 5.5 pct in 09/10
Monday, March 8th, 2010Source : Bangladesh’s economy is poised to slow to 5.5 percent growth in the current fiscal year through June from 5.9 percent last year, the Asian Development Bank said on Monday, and urged greater government efforts to encourage investment.
“The global economic recession belatedly affected the Bangladesh economy in the first half of the 2009/10 fiscal year,” the ADB said in its Quarterly Economic Update on Bangladesh.
Export earnings in July-December fell 6.2 percent to $7.27 billion, reflecting subdued demand for readymade garments, which account for 80 percent of total overseas sales.
Net foreign direct investment in Bangladesh in July-December was $197 million, a 67.3 percent decline from the same period of 2008.
The industrial sector continued to be affected by power and gas shortages, the Manila-based ADB said in the report.
“The government needs to … improve the country’s investment climate to encourage domestic and foreign investments. It also needs to develop the capacity of key agencies to boost public sector investment and encourage higher private sector investment,” the ADB said.
It said the country’s farm growth is likely to slow to 4.1 percent in 2010 from 4.6 percent in 2009 while industrial sector growth is set to slow to 5.6 percent from 5.9 percent.
The service sector is projected to grow 5.9 percent from 6.3 percent in the last fiscal year due to the slowdown in trade flows and weaker industrial performance.
The government said it was hoping to achieve 6 percent growth in the current fiscal year.
The ADB said the impoverished country needs to push for job creation to make growth more inclusive.
Nearly 40 percent of Bangladesh’s 150 million people still live on less than $1 a day.
The ADB said excess liquidity in the banking system and rising global commodity prices are likely to push up the inflation rate, which surged to a 15-month high of 8.51 percent in December from 7.24 percent the previous month as food prices rose steeply








Feb 7 (g): A red carpet was rolled out to greet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as she landed at Kuwait International Airport on Sunday afternoon to begin a three-day state visit to the Gulf country. Adviser to the Kuwaiti Prime Minister Dr Sheikh Rafah al Sabah al Jaber received Sheikh Hasina at the tarmac as a special airplane carrying her flew into the airport at 6.0pm (local time). The Prime Minister was given a guard of honour by a smartly turned-out contingent. Bangladesh Ambassador to
After effct of the Bangladeshi PM Begum Sheik Hasina India visit it seems better friendly and reliable environment between the two contry India has shown keen interest in taking advantage of the massive investment opportunities in Bangladesh as economic relations between the two countries grow from strength to strength.